Thank You Susanne Middleton!!!

for the 2002 Hyundai Elantra GLS.  We can't wait for the Fairy Dog Mother to take us for a ride in it!  You are an angel for donating your car to the farm!  You're the best!

Don’t Blame Me, I’m Just Scared…

By Violetta Karas

Each of us puppies whether young or old comes to the farm with a story and like people each of us deals with our baggage in different ways. Sparky for example was treated O.K. for some years and only in the last part of his life did things get tough, but to go from very little human contact to our Mom still has Sparky cower in fear for what WAS. He knows he’s safe and loved but the memories sometimes slip in; that’s how he explained it to me and I understand completely. Every once in a while Mom tries to pick me up to hug me and she hits the spot that they hurt me at and I scream and cry remembering the hurt from the past. I often look with envy at Reece and her joy filled puppyhood, she came from a nice old back yard breeder who cared for her and then straight to the farm at 6 months old then to our Mom. Reece only has a Vera Bradley overnight bag, Sparky and I both have several steamer trunks full of baggage (and more hiding in storage in my case).

First let me tell you of my first few days at the farm to give you some insight. I came in from a puppy mill I was put with some other black mini poodles and put in the “medical cottage”, all I could think of was I in for some torture; and I was right, people kept coming in and trying to touch me… I was not going to let them hurt me so I bit each hand and ankle I could get in my teeth…. I hid in the back corner of my crate tried to tell everyone to leave me alone!!! Miss Donna showed this lady in and she sat down and said that she understood I was scared but this biting would NOT DO! She wrapped me in a blanket and pulled me into her arms and held me tight against her, OH I bit her but good… but she did a crazy thing… she told me it’s “O.K.” and I was safe and loved…. I kept waiting for her to yell at me, to hit me, kick me hurt me… It’s so hard to keep your whole body tensed waiting for the hurt especially when it never comes….

We sat together for what felt like forever, then she commented that maybe I would like to get the stinky matted fur off me and that maybe it would stop pulling and hurting me…. OK here comes the pain…. FLINCH…. But she gently rubbed my head and placed a kiss on it…. This is one CRAZY lady don’t she remember I just bit her?? Isn’t she going to hurt me for that?? But no, she let me hold tight to her and she held me for the entire day…. After a while she took some scissors to me and released me from my fur prison and then a bath so no more stink…. She said that the stink of my old life was being washed down the drain, time for a clean start… Next she pulled some stuff from my ears and I could hear so I’m not going deaf, whew that actually felt good… Then she just held me some more…. Maybe they weren’t lying, maybe I am safe… Well at the end of the day the crazy lady left and left me in the medical cottage (I knew it was too good to be true) I went to the doctors and got spayed more pain.

I was sore and scared and mad and sitting in the back of my crate when that CRAZY lady came back… I was surprised cuz I kept trying to tell Miss Donna that my name was Violet and I wanted to see the crazy lady again and there she was! I found out that the crazy lady is Miss Laura AKA Sparky’s Mom AKA Marah’s Mom I just call her MOM now….

One of the things I learned and I try to teach the dogs who come to the Farm is that the people here do care… they worry about us dogs, and most of all they understand that we sometimes remember too much of the past hurts to react reasonably. Some of us bite… others start fights… others hide and cry… while others run (and some like me do all of that stuff). We do it all to deal with the tremendous weight of the past and the immense change in fortune that has happened in a short amount of time. I would ask of each new parent to remember this in your heart when you take us home and if we don’t instantly bond to you… If we have accidents… or even if we run away… some of us have a greater flight or fight response ingrained in us and it takes some time to have love and compassion over rule the other response for us… give us time, love and understanding and even a “Shy Vi” like me can come around…

I got loaded in the car with Tyler, Sparky and Reece and we went to the place that they call home… I only weighed 6 lbs. (remember I’m a Mini not a Toy) so Miss Donna sent a 10x10 kennel and ME home with that gang and I was told to have fun, become a puppy and gain weight…. That felt like telling a kindergarten child to build a house, prepare taxes and speak Mandarin Chinese... AGAIN proof this lady is CRAZY!! She put all us dogs in the 10x10 and watched us all sniff and look around…. Did I mention I was used to my tiny crate, this is HUGE!! And there is this green stuff under my feet and these things Sparky said are cats and it smells weird and… and….

Because Miss Laura knows it is overwhelming to me she was talking to me softly telling me it will be O.K. … Miss Laura turned her back for a moment to put that crazy dog Reece in the house…. I don’t know what got over me…. There wasn’t a place to hide, it was so big and scary the smells, the weird stuff under my feet too much TOO MUCH … I found a corner where the fence didn’t quite meet all the way and I squeezed my body through there and RAN and ran and ran….. FLIGHT RESPONSE in full effect.

Now I’m lost in this dark scary place, I don’t know where I’m suposta go now and I just KNOW that if I COULD make my way back that the crazy lady will hurt me, call me stupid or dumb, maybe even just tell me to leave and never come back…. That is IF she even knew I was missing to begin with…. Would she miss me??? Uh oh… Now I’m hungry, cold, lost, and scared…. I hear this soft voice…. Violet darling… Vi…. where are you??? sweet Violet… Violetta pretty puppy (now I know it must be the crazy lady cuz I’m NOT pretty)… so she knows I’m gone and it sounds like she wants me back…. Is this a trick??? Late into the night I can hear Miss Donna and Miss Laura calling for me to come out but I am frozen to one spot and can’t seem to find my voice to let them know where I am…

The next morning early early as the light is just coming out they are back calling for me traipsing in the woods looking for one small scared black poodle…. They found me huddled under a wheel barrow, behind a shed in the tree line in the neighbor’s yard next to the fence with all of the loud doggies it sounded the most like home to me… When Miss Laura bent down to pick me up she didn’t even have a towel or blanket she just slowly sat down and grabbed me into the biggest hug and started to cry… I should be crying she’s squeezing the guts out of me, and smotherin me with kisses. She was telling me how worried she was and how sorry that I had to spend the night alone outside. WAIT…. I’m not in trouble? You’re not returning me?? Beating me??? This CRAZY lady was going to keep me??? I guess I can live with that….

Long story short, Miss Donna and Miss Laura thought that I was strong enough for a home of my own(sometimes humans just don’t listen), well I lived with another family for a short time but I got to come back because the entire time I just kept thinking about my MOM, Miss Laura… Now you can find me somewhere in orbit around my mom’s feet, I’m still shy around strangers, I still cry and wince from being touched in certain spots, but I know that I was found when I was lost and I now have a home.

This is Violet's Story

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Her name, she has told me, is Violet so she will be known by this instead of as "the poodle" from here on out. Violet is an individual, at the moment one that is hard to reach because she has had a rough time of it, but an individual none the less.

Violet may be a cockapoo or 1/4 cocker 3/4 poodle. Or Violet could well be just a poorly bred poodle. She is not sure so neither are we. Regardless of her heritage, we are giving her the chance to become what a poodle should be which is happy, healthy, gregarious and social.

So far, Violet only tries to bite when we pick her up. This is done with towels not with bare hands for once she feels the pressure of your hands she will show you her teeth but we promptly lose all sense of fear when she also loses control of her bladder. It is hard to feel fear for a creature so afraid of what is going to happen that she pees all over herself and you, too. Actually, this is an improvement over yesterday. Yesterday she would lose control of both bladder and bowels. I find this to be a small but significant victory for Day One of Violet's New Life.

Once in your arms, Violet will cling to you. She relaxes and allows examination and gentle (but still painful) attention. We scissored the mats off her in about three hours. At the end, she was almost asleep. Violet woke up when I pulled the stinky masses of waxed hair from her ears, then relaxed and dozed off again. We think some of the improvement may be simply that Violet can now hear without her "ear plugs" on. Her bath went well. The water ran black for many minutes as her former life was washed down the drain. She is now clean outside. Now we work on the inside.

The goal is for at least three people to hold Violet for about 15 minutes each day, doing nothing more complicated than simply stroking her. In addition, her roommates are currently 7 highly gregarious female toy poodles who love all things two legged and one other puppy mill mini poodle, which has learned in the last two weeks of living with her roommates that humans often have treats in their pockets and always have kind words and soft hands to caress tiny curly heads. Bobbie Jo is starting to think that perhaps these humans have some worth. We are encouraging this behavior in her and hope that Violet will allow us to encourage it in her.

Under the mats and mud, Violet appears to be fairly well put together with no significant cuts, scratches, wounds or bruises. She does not appear to have been pregnant. She appears to be very young, under 2. She has a significant number of retained baby teeth. To say she was filthy would be an understatement.

Violet has a vet appointment on Tuesday to be fully vetted including her spay. No more potential baby machine for Shy Vi. She is to become a cherished and protected companion to a wonderful family. She likes the idea but will take some time to fully accept that the dream will become a reality. I told her to take all the time she needs.

Spotlight Adoptable Dog

Me Oh My Oh-- It's Maggie Ohio!

H!  My name is Maggie and I am waiting patiently for you to take me to my forever home.  I used to have a home, but I liked to visit the neighbors and all my mama had was a little ole electric fence for me.  So I would slip through that fence and go visit my friends.  Some people didn't like it much and I guess my mama didn't either so here I am.

I love it here at Dreamweaver Farms and get to do all the visiting I want, but I would really love to come home with you and keep you company.  I'm very smart--well that goes without saying, cuz I'm a poodle.  But anyway, I know lots of stuff that you'd probably like for you're poodle to know, like sit and stay and stuff like that.  I also play well with others.  I like most anybody as long as it's not a cat.  You know those little things just bug me for some reason. 

So, what do ya say?  If you have a real fence, like older, smart gals like me, and need a couch warmer and someone to greet you when you come home everyday, I think I might be your girl.  If you're interested in finding out more about me, you can contact Carolina Poodle at adoptions@carolinapoodlerescue.org or check out this link for adoption information: www.carolinapoodlerescue.org/FAQAdoption.shtml

The Rainbow Bridge

Dedicated to those who have passed over

"Max"
Ann Addison, Columbia, SC

"Doodle Bug"
Dreamweaver Farms, Pacolet, SC

"Elliott"
Melissa Burris, Greensboro, NC

  Announcements

• April 30 will be our annual Spring Cleaning Fling.  Wear your oldest clothes and your get wet shoes and bring gloves you can work in when wet.  We’ll be taking all of the equipment out of the central station and power cleaning every crate and fence.  Inside, we’ll also be power cleaning floors and walls.  It was a long winter and now it’s time to spruce things up. Handy men/women needed for other projects to be announced as time gets closer.  Dog wranglers needed!  It’s a fun day, a necessary day and it can be a stressful day for our poodles.  People to sit with, calm and soothe jangled poodley nerves from all the activity are much needed.
• Saturday, May 7th is the 2011 PawJam. PAWS is an organization committed to raising funds and awareness for non-profit animal rescue groups because Pets Are Worth Saving.  Check out more information here:  http://www.pawjam.org.
• Best Friends Animal Society is bringing back the Pet Super Adoption to the New York area for it's second year! We hope to see you there June 4 and 5.  http://events.bestfriends.org/upcoming/superny
• Here's an updated list of recalled pet foods and treats: Click Here for Petfood Recalls

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